Rock and a Hard Place
by CaptainCeaser
Summary: A futuristic team of human soldiers enter a world where they are destined to be heroes, but find it impossible to beat the real enemy who is older than the universe itself. More detailed summary inside. Rated T for strong language and adult stuff.


I do not own anything but my characters!

Well I think I have finally decided to get off my lazy ass and write up a new chapter, and another one hopefully. Oh wait a minute, this isn't even a new chapter. Gee what a surprise. Seriously, I apologize for the wait, but it will all be worth it at the end.

Detailed Summary: Equestria, along with all pony kind, are risked to be wiped off the map and become extinct until a futuristic squad of warriors led by Lieutenant Dawn 'Brandon' may turn the tide of history. However, the humans find themselves far from prepared to take on more than just their own species... or were they actually prepared for this long ago?

The plot got changed around a little bit, but to be honest, I was planning that from the start, but it would be less confusing to put it in now. Well, enjoy the third draft of chapter 1!

Canterlot, Equestria

It was going to be a long winter for the people. The lone alicorn could tell by the lack of weather service, the snow will hit the former capitol city hard. Not that it even mattered anyways. Canterlot has been long abandon for months, and recently fought over for nothing. Only it wasn't her kind, it was two different species. They were supposed to be long gone, but both were the opposite. Only one was more dangerous and numerous, along being far more advanced.

Sighing, the loner stared deeply into the ruins of a once high class hotel. It had four floors, but the ceiling was now the third levels floor as the whole roof collapsed from an artillery blast. To her left, she caught a glimpse of a single standing restaurant It still had most of its windows intact, but the floors collapsed. To the right was supposed to be another restaurant, but actually crossed over into a bookstore. It was intact as well. Viewing the remains of her city, the princess couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears streamed down her face as small particles of dust and debris floated from the sky. Seeing her nations capitol in ruins didn't make Equestria survive any better. Even thought Canterlot, along with much of the Baltimare area, was the only truly enemy occupied location. Only it had been fought for and occupied twice, by two different species. The capitol was still an icon of hope, but was now smoldering in ruin.

Remembering the fateful day the first enemy came, a fresh wave of tears came down. Suddenly, the alicorn felt herself be embraced and comforted by a close friend. More than friends. Standing to her right was a larger white alicorn, who must feel just as awful as her sister. Sighing, the white princess reassured her sister everything was going to be alright. She stared down at her sisters shining eyes, sparkling with tears. She tried to clear her throat to let out a few words, but nothing happened. She couldn't move anything.

"Come now, sister. The patients are now well rested and will wake sooner or later" The white alicorn said to her sister. She looked up and nodded. The darker princess wanted to smile, but couldn't. Even though the new humans who arrived not too long ago revealed everything the prophecy mentioned. Things were going so far as planned, as in planned by people thousands of years ago. What did go right is that after an overwhelming number of species attacks the mainland, they are defeated, but by and even greater enemy with much darker intentions. Then the others showed up. Suddenly a glowing feeling came from both the princesses, a feeling that could only be achieved with relief. Maybe they were going to make it. Maybe Equestria will survive.

"Yes, we wouldn't want to miss it" The shorter of the two replied. Now in a change of direction, the two started walking to a carriage that was just landed. In it were three royal guards with worried faces, one in the back was signaling the two to hurry up. As much as viewing damage to your home town was heart breaking and slow, there was a possibility the enemy might move back. Only if they decided to blow it up some more...

"Do you think they could really mean hope?" Asked the dark princess. Her sister nodded, facing her direction but eyes glued into nowhere.

"We will see... we will see" Was all that managed to come out. Glumly, the dark alicorn leaned her head onto her sisters body for comfort. She returned the favor by wrapping her foreleg around her body.

Hopefully the prophets were telling the truth. Hopefully they would be the hope Equestria needed, but if not, they were in a lot of trouble...

XXX

Ponyville Hospital

Twenty minutes later...

_He's still sleeping._

_Yes, but he is showing signs of exiting the coma very soon._

_If not now, he will wake up soon._

_Hopefully, I don't think I can stay up much longer._

_What about his vitals? Are they ok?_

_There fine, actually. At least for someone this size._

_Ha, yeah... his breathing rate is coming up._

_And...?_

_That means hes going to be awake soon._

_Heh, if hes not already listening to us right now..._

_What the hell are they talking about?_ Brandon thought to himself as the voices rammed through his head. Whoever was the last person to speak was nearly onto Brandon. He had actually been up for the past ten minutes, only the people walked in thirty seconds ago. Funny thing actually. Brandon could have sworn as the doors went open half a minute ago it sounded more like six people just walked in, or someone was putting on a spectacular tap dancing show in his own hospital room. At least that's what Brandon thought it was, judging from the sheets condition. The beds were also really small. He could see himself sticking his legs out the lower bottom if not were for the bed frame.

But back to business, they were talking about a coma. The human started thinking of how long he could have been knocked out, if he was in a coma. It could have been three days at the most, judging from how sore he was and his hunger.

"Alright, lets give some more rest and we will check on him later" He heard a female voice said. The tap dancing sound was heard again and he could faintly hear a creak. As soon as the human hear the door close completely, he immediately kicked the covers off his sheet and sat straight up. Wiping his eyes, he felt an immense pain in his gut. Looking down, Brandon noticed a glob of red on his tight white t-shit. Cursing he laid back down.

"And they didn't even give me a new shirt?" Brandon accidentaly thought out loud. Looking around the room, he made sure no one was still there, but no one. At least a person.

"Hi there" A rather friendly voice exclaimed. Brandon sat straight up and looked around the room for the source of the noise, and he tracked down to the lower left corner. Looking near a window, Brandon spotted a four legged creature standing there, its eyes widened.

_Moving on..._ Brandon thought, pretending he didn't actually think for a moment that the voice came from a horse... wait a minute. What was a horse, it wasn't even that. It was smaller, but he didn't want to look at it again. Looking to the other corners, there was nothing to be seen but average hospital room items. Suddenly he heard the strange clacking noise. Looking over, sure enough it was the animal he saw a little while ago.

"Well, I guess your awake now" It said. As Brandon turned to the other side of the bed to avoid the creature, he realized it talked, again. Now completely frozen, the human slowly turned his head to face the stallion again, this time staring. It had large eyes, which seemed to glare back in a strange sort of way. Now the two were staring awkwardly, until Brandon forced a smile. _Why am I... what am I even looking at? _Was all that he could think. Suddenly he forced a smile. This was kind of humorous.

"Oh I bet Cameron drugged me... again! Yeah, you got me th...is time..." Brandon said out loud with an unconvinced voice. The stallion in front of the human had a confused look but continued fondling with some controls of a heart pacer the human was connected to.

"Rrright... Well let me tell you this, you are by far the luckiest human alive" It said. Suddenly the smile faded. _Did that thing just refer me as a human? Where am I, the moon?_

"Well, your a human right? I mean, its quite impressive you can talk, most animals like you can't even sit up right" it continued. Suddenly, Brandon felt deeply offended. _So now it just called me an animal? _Now the human started thinking of some sort of place he could be. Brandon clenched his fists and cleared his throat.

"Well, you are a horse right? It is quite impressive that you are able to know how to operate on those things, I mean most animals like you can't even say a word other than their own repetitive language" Brandon mocked, pointing to the pacer. Now it was the stallions turn to be offended, but shrugged it off.

"I never expected someone to fling their poop at trees to be quite so offensive" It responded. _So now its __the planet of the apes_, he thought. _Humans evolved into ponies, and apes evolved into humans which are dumb and stupid creatures and I happen to wake up frozen in time at this very moment._ It sounded like a totally retarded idea to the human. Maybe he just got drugged from Cameron once he fell asleep. _Yeah that's it, and then I'm going to kick his ass when im off this stuff_ Brandon promised himself. Suddenly, Brandon didn't feel the urge to care anymore. He didn't care that an animal was operating his life and throwing references to him that humans were kind of stupid. It was just the best stuff he ever shot up, or at least was drowned in. Last time he was in this kind of situation, Brandon just layed down, and tried not to think of anything. And that was exactly what he did, unresponsive to the doctors commands.

"Hello... you there?" It said before being interrupted by a door slamming open. In came two more doctors, or just running around ponies with white jackets on them from what Brandon cared, rushed to the human.

"He seems to be unresponsive. He was talking earlier" The stallion said. Out of nowhere, the nurse and the doctor in front of the stallion jaws dropped. The nurse moved closer to the human, now looking directly into Brandon's deep brown eyes.

"Did you just say he 'talked'?" It asked. The stallion shrugged and nodded.

"Uhm... yeah. Whys that a big deal?" It asked, not aware that he wasn't suppose to.

"How remarkable. Humans aren't even from anywhere. There just mythical creatures but here's one laying here in front of us actually talking. It must be an intelligent one" It continued as the three doctors leaned over Brandon. The human crossed his arms as he looked up, avoiding eye contact with the ponies.

"Well, of course I'm smart, how did you think I have these clothes on?" Brandon barked. Suddenly their jaws dropped and the human rolled his eyes.

"And when is this stuff suppose to be over with? You've had your fun Burns" Brandon exclaimed out loud. His 'moment' lasted a lot longer than he thought it ever would. Suddenly the door opened once more and in came three stallions, but this time they had a gold armored body. One in the middle came up close the to the doctors and human.

"The princess would like to see him" It said. Now the doctors got away from the human and quickly formed a small line in front of the guard.

"Of course, sir" The one nurse responded. The guard in front of them nodded and in came yet another creature, but this one was different from any other in the room. It was a dark purple, and it had a flowing dark blue mane with a crown on top. It also had both a horn and wings, meaning this was an alicorn. Brandon sighed as he saw the four more uninvited guests.

"I'm sorry, but my sister had to run a quick errand. She will be back shortly" The dark alicorn said. The doctors nodded as she approached the bed that contained the human. Walking at the same pace, the guards had their eyes motioned on the human, taking precautions that he would not harm their leader.

As the alicorn approached the now responsive human, they met eye contact. For a while all they did was stare until a guard cleared his throat. Brandon did have to admit, it was getting awkward, even for a dream. Or maybe this wasn't even a dream. _Maybe its real_, he thought. Suddenly, a thought of his men rushed his head. The squad he just got, if this is all real, might be dead. As a sudden wrench of guilt washed his stomach, he could tell his surroundings were real. Maybe even the... ponies. Either it was sleep paralysis, which is highly unlikely. Brandon had a feeling of guilt and awkwardness, when you usually wake up by then. He could feel every little detail, the air around him. Now taking a precaution, the human got out of the stare he and the princess were locked together in, and springed out of bed.

Without haste, the three guards approached the human with their arrows pointed directly at him. Being the usual paranoid soldier he was, Brandon back to the wall and prepared a fighting stance. Now the guards took it as some sort of threat, but didn't know what he was planning on doing with his arms covering his chest and head. Now it was even more awkward as Brandon found himself looking into the eyes of the golden armored stallions. Looking away for a quick second, the human spotted the princess to his right looked speechless. She was obviously impressed by how quickly the human reacted.

"Holy..." One of the guards whispered. Brandon slightly stepped back at the guards response. He didn't think the ponies talking part was real, but now it was. Since everything was real, everything mattered.

This wasn't going to end very soon...

XXX

"So, Mr. Burns is it?" A British like voice asked its human companion.

"That sounds about right" The human responded. He noticed the British resemblance in the pony as they conversed. As the two walked through a crowded hall way, the human was shot multiple times with strange faces. He didn't care so much, after all, if it were one of those things in his world, it would be the same.

"Your friend is awake I believe, shall we visit him?" It asked. The human kept walking with the creature which was almost half his size as it continued to twist and turn around the hospital walls.

"Yes, lead the wa-"

"Were here" The stallion said, cutting off the human. Burns shrugged as the two approached the a door. Beside it a sign read, _VIP Patient- Dawn Morgan_.

_So he gets the VIP._ Burns thought. The stallion prepared his foreleg to open the door, but the hunk of wood was busted open. The stallion raised his eyebrow as a guard was panicking out of the room, along with the princess. The guard was startled beyond belief, and tried to explain what happened.

"Oh my gosh, th-t-... hes- hes out of c-control!" The guard exclaimed. Both the stallion and the human couldn't understand a word he was saying, but the stallion casually ignored the guard and approached the princess who appeared less startled.

"Your majesty, what happened?" He asked. The alicorn sighed as she took a deep breath. Burns paid attention as well, after all it was his friend who was in that room.

"The human just got a little out of... hand" She simply said. The stallion nodded and signaled Burns to follow him in. Having a sudden burst of courage, Burns rushed in to see objects scattered across the floors and guards tossed aside.

"My god" Burns exclaimed as his jaw dropped slightly. He could see Brandon fighting off four defenseless guards, as literally a dozen of the things were crawling on the floor. The stallion quickly but steadily stormed in the room as he watched the human take on the four, now three, guards at once.

"Allow me to take it from here, Director" An authoritative voice called out. Burns turned behind him to see yet another alicorn, but she was much larger, and brighter. She had a white coat and a transparent mane of green and pink covering one of her eyes. She too had a crown, but suddenly the human realized she called the stallion by the name of 'Director'. What was that suppose to be?

"Actually, your majesty..." The stallion started as looked over to his human companion. Burns nodded as he willingly pulled out a small metal tube from his front pocket. It was as wide as his hand, but was meant specifically for a big guy like Brandon. The small object in his hand carried a very delicate yet crucial one milligram of a certain substance which immediately makes people 'Like Brandon' doze off.

"Alright, Cameron. Do your thing" The stallion said to Burns. The princesses watched as the human stormed over to his raging friend, stepping over moaning guards which all broke at least something trying to detain Brandon. What looked like an unmatched situation, Burns just calmly approached Brandon and he didn't even notice. He never even thought about at least one of his men in the same place as he was.

The target had his back turned, which was the perfect moment. Just as Brandon completed the last round of guards, Burns hopped onto his friends back. He squirmed a lot, fleeing his arms over his head. The 'audience' watched rather amused that Burns was trying to be bucked off like he was on a bull.

"Hold still you son of a bitch" Burns commanded. Instantly Brandon recognized the voice. He stopped and looked up at his squad mate which was hanging on to his back for deer life. He pulled out the metal tube and neared it to his face, ready to inject its contents.

"Wait..." Brandon tried to stop his comrade from injecting the shot into his throat, but it was too late. Before he knew it, it sunk in his neck and instantly Brandon dropped to the floor, now asleep. Burns fell with him to the floor, but quickly stood back up.

From where he was standing, almost every square inch was covered with some sort of body. Alive or not, hopefully alive, they were moaning and crawling around, much to the Director's dismay. It was a shame that they crawling on the floor, and that they should have been trained better. Only it wasn't his call...

"Well, I have somepony to fire" The stallion said, observing the covered floor. The princess almost felt the same way, but showed sympathy to who was supposed to be here in the first place.

"Perhaps it wasn't his fault. He has a family to attend to, remember?" Asked the princess. The stallion nodded and lowered his head.

"Ahh yes, forgive me Celestia. How could I forget the whole changeling incident?" The stallion responded. Celestia smiled and walked over to the humans, one on the ground and one standing straight. Burns took notice that the princess was standing in front of her, and without thinking he saluted.

"This sort of things happens to him if he gets too stressed" He explained. The princess nodded as she lit up her horn. Suddenly, the whole room was covered in a cloud of yellow light which spread through like a shock wave. As the wall of light reached the edges of the room, it was gone as quickly as it came. The human instantly noticed all of the guards that were on the floor, were now standing up straight and didn't have any bruises or dents in their armor. The human looked back to the princess who was already observing his sleeping friend.

"That was very impressive" She said with a smile. Burns smiled back and shrugged.

"It was nothing. I grew up riding bulls" And by that he might as well said 'I stayed up all night near the grocery store at the mechanical bull machine'. They wouldn't even know what that was anyways.

As the guards were all briefed by the stallion Burns had been with, he noticed he was apparently in command of them. From what he was stating, he was probably responsible for all the captains, especially one in particular he mentioned who was in big trouble. Upon finishing his lecture about Brandon, the guards were given the day relieved, but one stayed behind. The stallion raised an eyebrow at the guard who took off his helmet and threw it at his chest.

"I didn't sign up for that sort of thing" He barked. The stallion lowered his eyes at the helmet he was now carrying in his hooves. He was indeed a very special royal guard.

"Allen, your one of our best. You can't quit, and I promise you won't ever face anyone like that ever again... without anypony telling you in advance" He said. The guard was interested for a moment, but listened to his last words. He apologized and walked out the door, his head limping. The stallion sighed as placed the helmet in his other hoof.

"Looks like we lost one of our best" He sighed. The princess left the sight of the humans and joined the stallion.

"You did your best to keep him away" Celestia said. He nodded in responsive and walked out the door, still carrying the helmet with care. Burns, who was sitting on the all of a sudden folded bed, tried not to think about what she just said.

_You did your best to keep him away,_ the statement repeated. What was that supposed to mean? _Keep him away..._

"Come on, I should probably show you around" Celestia offered. Burns stood up and noticed that Brandon was now laying on the bed he just got up from. He was used to the magic deal, after all he was awake for two days. And all this time he knew either Brandon would think he is hallucinating or he will try and kill everyone in the room once he wakes up. Only he just picked a fight with the ones who seemed the most threatening.

"Yeah, I'll be there" Burns calmly responded. The princess could tell he was glum very easily, but knew it would go away once his friend would awake.

"Oh, princess?" Burns started. Celestia turned her body around ready to respond his question. It wasn't easy for Burns to ask this but it was really bugging him.

"When do you suppose we will be able to find away back to our home?" He asked. The princess sighed and dragged her foreleg. She forgot that even though these were the undoubted heroes of Equestria, they still had a home. Their species needs their help, but hers needed it even more.

"Don't worry, were doing everything we can" The princess assured the human. Burns nodded and smiled, following the princess out of the room.

"Oh and Mr. Dawn will be in great care once he wakes up" The princess continued.

As Burns shut the door all the way, Brandon could hear it close. Immediately he peeked an eye open to see if anyone was in, and sure enough there wasn't. He yanked his covers gently as he roamed around the room, seeing evidence he just came into contact with talking ponies. Now a smile forced his face as he looked out his window. There was a small village in which he could see ponies everywhere, just walking happily and minding their own business. As the human walked around the room some, he could help but ask out loud,

"What the hell just happened?".

XXX

Woah, so this was a very confusing and probably fast pacing chapter, I know, but this is the beginning. As it is this part that really messes me up the most. The rest won't be as bad I promise. Well, just in case I do not update any time soon:

Next Chapter: Welcome to Equestria(And An Unlikely Alliance)


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